33. A quantity of prewar collections of Corner, Holttum, Henderson, 
Md. Nur and Kiah bin Salleh which had not been distributed were sorted out 
and now ready for distribution. Some 500 collecting numbers were involved, 
and sets will be sent to collaborating institutions. 
XVIII. TAXONOMY 
34. Mr. Sinclair continued his research work on Malaysian Myristicaceie 
(Nutmeg family) in collaboration with the Flora Malesiana Foundation. He 
was engaged mainly on studies of the Genus Myristica containing about 73 
species. By the end of the year, when he retired under Government’s malay- 
anisation policy, the major part of the practical work was already completed, 
leaving the keys and introduction to be done. Mr. Sinclair will be doing this 
and the checking of the whole manuscript at Kew while on leave after his 
return to Britain. However, the last genus, Horsfieldia, remains to be worked 
out, and arrangement should be made for Mr. Sinclair to return to Singapore 
to complete this work of economic importance. 
35. Dr. Chew Wee Lek has been studying the genera Laportea and 
Fleurya (Urticaceae). However, progress is rather slow due to the lack of 
literature in Singapore and the difficulty of tracking down the whereabouts 
of type materials and obtaining loan of them. The refusal of many institutions 
to loan out classical material has also hampered the work. Such a situation 
for an expatriate officer can be overcome while on vacation leave since he 
has the opportunity to visit the relevant European herbaria. For local officers 
this can only be resolved by granting him study leave. 
36. Dr. Chew has also been engaged in naming the Urticaceae of the 
Royal Society North Borneo expedition of 1961 and of the recent Danish 
Expedition to Thailand. 
37. Dr. Furtado, although in retirement, has nevertheless continued to 
work in the herbarium to sort out and bring up to date the names of several 
genera in the herbarium. He named the palms and the genus Ardisia collected 
on the Royal Society Expedition. 
38. Miss Chang continued her collection of Agaricales and prepared her 
material for her studies at Cambridge. 
XIX. LOANS OF HERBARIUM MATERIAL 
39. Loans of Herbarium material were made to nine institutions. Most 
of them were sent to Leiden, Holland, for monographers working on Flora 
Malesiana. The Department received loans from 13 institutions. Details are 
given in Appendix VL 
HORTICULTURE 
XX. GARDENS MAINTENANCE 
40. Normal maintenance of beds and lawns was carried out. Hedges 
were kept trimmed and the encroaching jungle on Lawn V was cut back. The 
motor mowers gave a minimum of mechanical trouble and mowing was kept 
up to the usual weekly round. The tidying up of the lake continued. Control 
of the Nelumbium seems to be almost complete (see Annual Report for 1961, 
para. 46) and the display of red, pink and white flowering Nymphaea was 
again, as it was before 1955, a reward of the early morning visitor to the 
Gardens. 
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